In Perspective: Jesus took away sin so we won't be separated from God

Friday, May 24, 2013

As I was sitting in the early morning quiet today after spending some time with the word of God, a fresh cup of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal, two sections of Scripture came to my mind.One I had just read and the other I had read about a week ago.I had no idea why they were both there but I decided to let my mind wander about with them for a while.Let me share with you what they are and what I believe God might have been showing me through them.

The first verse section was in Mark 14:32-42 where Jesus prays in Gethsemane.As you read this, you see that Jesus is very troubled.He is grieved.He is literally dreading the events that he knows await him.But what is it that he so dreads?Is it the physical pain of crucifixion?Is it being mocked and ridiculed?The answer to both is absolutely not.So what is it?What Jesus dreaded, and what caused him such anguish was the separation he would face from the Father as he took the sin of humanity upon himself.Stop and think about that.What Jesus dreaded was a severing of his perfect fellowship with the Father.

As this section was marinating in my mind, Mark 5:1-20 came to mind.In this section, Jesus heals a man with a demon.This was a man who lived in a cemetery, separated from everyone because of his affliction.He was beyond violent, he was literally out of his mind, he inflicted much pain upon himself and anyone who would try to come near him.And in the end of this section, the man found himself healed by Jesus.In amazement and gratitude, the man begged Jesus that he might go with him as Jesus prepared to leave and Jesus did not permit him.Rather, Jesus told him to “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.”And the man went to do this and we are told in verse 20 that everyone marveled.

So there I sat thinking about three things.First, why did Jesus anguish so much over being separated from the Father and what exactly had Jesus done for this demon-possessed man, and why did this all come to my mind.I think the answer lies in a few pieces.First, apart from Christ, you and I were all afflicted with a condition far worse then the demon possession of the man in Gerasenes.We were afflicted with sin which separated us from God forever and there was nothing we could do about it.Yet Jesus made a way through his death on a cross and resurrection three days later so that those who believed could have his righteousness placed upon them as he took their sin upon himself at a cost far greater then we could ever comprehend.

As I thought about this and I wondered why Jesus was so grieved by a separation of fellowship from the Father while we can so easily lose focus of God and not seem to care so much.I thought about why Jesus would literally sweat blood in this anguish of lose of intimacy, but we can just sort of ho hum what we have been given with God through faith in Christ.And I wondered, who is the crazy one here?The God Man who felt such dread in the garden?Or the people he has redeemed who struggle to go and tell others what Jesus has done for us?

And as all this spun around I decided to simply pray.And I will share that prayer with you.

Father, you are far more marvelous then we can ever imagine.Father we have in your work on the cross a gift far more valuable then we can fully comprehend on this side of eternity, but I pray that you would open my eyes to the reality of this gift more fully day by day.I pray that you would help me see more clearly why, Jesus, you dread this separation from the Father, but what it means to me as a child of God, cleansed by your blood, to have eternal life right now where by I will never be separated from the love of God.I pray you will help me behold the wondrous reality of what you have done, who I have been made and why that is.And I pray that asyou open my eyes to these truths that you will give me a passion that far surpasses the man you healed in Geransenes so I might walk in greater obedience to you and glorify you by making known to others all that you have done for me and offer to them as well.

My prayer is that we all might dread a lack of intimacy with God, desire to walk in greater obedience to him, and declare all that he has done for us as we plumb the depths of it day by day.

The Rev. Jon Tripp is the pastor of God’s Grace Bible Church in Downingtown. His column appears every other week in the Daily Local News. To contact him, call 610-441-2387 or send an e-mail to pastorjon@godsgracebible.org.